WWE Monday Night Raw debuts on Netflix tonight: How to watch, match card, what we know
WWE is set to launch its new era with Monday Night Raw making its Netflix debut.
The new year starts off with a bang for WWE's signature show as it moves to the streaming giant, and the wrestling company has made it known it is going to be a major event, with WWE chief content officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque previously saying the show is being "looked at like a WrestleMania."
With the night approaching, it sure looks like it. Not only are there matches involving some of the biggest stars − like Roman Reigns taking on Solo Sikoa, Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley reaching another chapter of their heated rivalry and CM Punk finally facing off against Seth Rollins − there will be some big-time appearances for legends of the company. Fireworks await inside the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, for the first episode of Raw in 2025.
Here's what to know ahead of the debut of Monday Night Raw on Netflix:
The first Monday Night Raw on Netflix is Monday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. ET.
Monday Night Raw on Netflix is will take place at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, home of the Los Angeles Clippers. It will be the first wrestling event to take place at the arena since it opened in August 2024.
Monday Night Raw will be available only on Netflix. Viewers will need a Netflix subscription to watch the event, and it's available at no additional cost. Fans with any Netflix subscription tier will be able to watch.
Matches not in order
There will be plenty more happening other than the scheduled matches for Monday. Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Bianca Belair have been promoted for the show, but it's unclear how they will take part. Rapper Travis Scott will perform the new Monday Night Raw theme song.
There will be some returns as well. Logan Paul will making his return to WWE as part of the Raw roster, and John Cena, who will be retiring this year, begins his farewell tour.
The commentary team for the show will be Michael Cole and Pat McAfee.
Get ready for the return of the "most electrifying man in sports entertainment." The Rock confirmed on Sunday he will be part of the show.
"I’ll come back home to WWE tomorrow night as we make history on Netflix and begin a new and exciting era," he said on social media. "Tomorrow night is dedicated to my grandfather, the High Chief Peter Maivia, my grandmother, Lia Maivia and my dad, Rocky 'Soulman' Johnson and my ancestors who have ALL paved the way."
It's unclear how The Rock will be part of it, but it wouldn't be a surprise for him to play a role in the tribal combat between Reigns and Sikoa. The last time The Rock appeared in WWE was in October, when he appeared at the end of Bad Blood and stared down Reigns and Sikoa.
What Time Is The First WWE Monday Night ‘Raw’ Netflix? How To Watch
On Jan. 6, Netflix is kicking off its weekly Monday night broadcasts of WWE's Raw with an action-packed premiere episode. Discover what time the first event starts and get all the details on the star-studded wrestling extravaganza.
WWE Raw, one of wrestling’s signature’s programs, previously aired on Mondays on the USA Network. In January 2024, it was announced that Raw would move to Netflix under a $500 million-per-year deal, as the streaming giant ramps up its live sports offerings. Last year, Netflix hosted major sports events like two NFL Christmas games and the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight.
Tonight's broadcast promises an exciting lineup of special guests, including John Cena, who will officially retire from wrestling this year, along with Logan Paul, Cody Rhodes, and Roman Reigns. Rapper Travis Scott, who created the new WWE Raw theme song, is slated to perform. Additionally, The Rock confirmed on Sunday that he will be making an appearance as well.
"I’ll come back home to WWE tomorrow night as we make history on Netflix and begin a new and exciting era," he penned on X. "Tomorrow night is dedicated to my grandfather, the High Chief Peter Maivia, my grandmother, Lia Maivia and my dad, Rocky 'Soulman' Johnson and my ancestors who have ALL paved the way."
Monday’s premiere episode will feature reigning women’s world champion Liv Morgan as she defends her title against Rhea Ripley. Other anticipated matchups include Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa, Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso, and CM Punk taking on Seth "Freakin" Rollins.
The first Monday Night Raw on Netflix kicks off at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT on Monday, January 6. If you miss the live broadcast, new episodes will be available for streaming immediately after the show concludes.
Wresting sites have reported that the event will last around 3.5 hours.
To watch Monday Night Raw, you’ll need to sign up for a Netflix membership. Netflix currently offers three options: Standard with ads starts at $6.99 per month, standard (no ads) is $15.49 per month, and premium (no ads) is $22.99 per month. The streamer does not offer a free trial at this time.
Here’s the match card for Monday Night Raw on Jan. 6 (in no particular order):
Netflix’s inaugural WWE Raw on Monday, Jan. 6 will be broadcast live from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. According to USA Today, this marks the first wrestling event held at the arena since its opening in August 2024.
WWE's 'Raw' makes its Netflix debut tonight. What to know
After three decades on cable TV, WWE's “Monday Night Raw” enters its streaming era on Jan. 6.
WWE’s flagship program makes its Netflix debut live at 8 p.m. ET with a stacked lineup, as superstars such as Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, CM Punk, Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley and more will be in action.
WWE is also bringing back some familiar faces. John Cena, who announced last summer he will retire in 2025, will make an appearance as he prepares to wind down his wrestling career.
In addition, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who remains a lingering presence in the ongoing “Bloodline” storyline involving Reigns, teased his return on X over the weekend.
“Raw” leaves its longtime home of USA Network to join Netflix, which continues to make a push into the world of live sports programming following the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight in November and the NFL's recent Christmas Day games. (WWE’s “SmackDown” program moved to USA Network from Fox in September.)
Here’s what to know about the debut of WWE’s “Raw” on Netflix.
The announced matches for the first episode of “Monday Night Raw” on Netflix are:
WWE is also advertising the returns of John Cena and Logan Paul, plus Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has stated on X that he will make an appearance.
“Monday Night Raw” on Netflix premieres live on Monday night, Jan. 6, at 8 p.m. ET. Over the years, “Raw” episodes have either been two hours long or three hours long; in a recent interview with the “SI Media With Jimmy Traina” podcast, WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque said the runtime for episodes on Netflix will be “flexible.”
The debut of “Monday Night Raw” on Netflix will take place at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, the home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers.
How to watch WWE's 'Monday Night Raw' Netflix debut tonight
There are quite a few new, big changes coming to the WWE this year, so now might be a good time to break it all down before the premiere of the first WWE Raw of 2025 on Monday night. One of the biggest changes of all is the partnership between WWE and Netflix, which has become the new streaming home of WWE Raw in the U.S.
In addition to finding a new broadcaster this year, Raw is also reverting back to a three-hour format after experimenting with a two-hour format when it aired on the USA Network, and the show is getting a new theme song, too, penned by Travis Scott. (The rapper will even be on hand to perform it live on Monday night!) This week's event marks the first weekly, live sports event to debut on the streaming platform, here's everything you need to know about how to watch WWE Raw when it makes its Netflix debut.
Date: Monday, Jan. 6, 2025
Time: 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT
Location: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, CA
Streaming: Netflix
WWE Raw will air live on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025 at 8 p.m. ET on Netflix.
The premiere episode of WWE Raw on Netflix will feature an appearance from John Cena, who has announced that he'll be retiring from wrestling at the end of the year, as well as Undisputed WWE Champion “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Bianca Belair, and many more. The episode will also welcome influencer/wrestler/Prime beverage purveyor Logan Paul, and Travis Scott will be on hand to perform the new Monday Night Raw theme song.
WWE Raw results, recap, grades: Damian Priest and Iyo Sky earn world title shots in No. 1 contender matches
Two days after WWE held Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, the promotion aired a pre-taped version of Raw. Monday's broadcast featured a pair of No. 1 contenders to the brand's top champions being determined.
A match between Damian Priest, Sheamus, Dominik Mysterio and Seth Rollins to crown a No. 1 contender to the world heavyweight championship was announced before the show but the women also saw a new top challenger to the women's world championship determined on Monday night.
Priest was able to outlast the other four men in the match, though not before Bronson Reed turned the match on its head, and now will get another crack at Gunther, the man who took the championship from him at SummerSlam. On the women's side, Adam Pearce announced a battle royal to determine the next challenger for Liv Morgan, a match which was won by former champion Iyo Sky.
CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
New No. 1 contenders determined
Iyo Sky won a battle royal to become No. 1 contender for the women's world championship. The show opened with Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez (flanked by Dominik Mysterio) bragging about putting Rhea Ripley on the shelf with their attack at NXT. This was eventually interrupted by Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair who pointed out that either would be a fine No. 1 contender. Belair eventually delivered a slap to Morgan's face before Adam Pearce announced a No. 1 contender battle royal. Morgan and Rodriguez interfered late, pulling both Cargill and Belair from the ring and leaving things down to Iyo Sky and Lyra Valkyria, with Sky getting the win to secure a shot at Morgan.
Damian Priest def. Sheamus, Dominik Mysterio and Seth Rollins via pinfall to become No. 1 contender for the world heavyweight championship. The match took a turn after interference from Bronson Reed. Reed attacked everyone in the match before putting Rollins through the commentary desk with a Tsunami. Mysterio was almost able to steal the win after a frog splash on Sheamus, but Priest broke the pin before hitting Mysterio with South of Heaven to get the victory. After the match, Priest and Gunther stood face-to-face as the show went off the air.
Sky is a reasonable choice for No. 1 contender with her recent work and keeping a challenge from Belair or Cargill on the backburner makes sense after Ripley's recent injury. On the men's side, Priest getting the win feels like something of a misstep. Priest had a respectful interaction with Gunther recently, saying he wanted the title back but was willing to work his way back to a title shot. When Priest lost to Mysterio, it felt like a good set-up to make Priest work all the way from the bottom back to an earned shot. Instead, one week later, Priest won a four-way to secure a title shot. That is a rushed move that makes everything feel far less significant than Priest actually clawing his way back to a shot at Gunther would have felt. Grade: C
What else happened on WWE Raw?
- War Raiders def. New Day via pinfall after hitting War Machine on Xavier Woods. Kofi Kingston seemed to have the match won when Woods tagged himself in, leading to yet another New Day loss.
- Sami Zayn, Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso all talked in the ring. Jimmy accused Zayn of intentionally kicking Roman Reigns in the face at Crown Jewel despite it being a clear accident. Zayn said he only came to the ring to make sure Jey was alright but that he wasn't going to go through having his loyalty challenged again. Jey told Jimmy that Zayn is "family" and invited Zayn to SmackDown to talk things out "like family."
- Dragon Lee def. Chad Gable via pinfall after hitting Operation: Dragon. Ivy Nile interfered, Zelina Vega countered the interference and then Rey Mysterio came to ringside. Gable lost focus, trying to take off Mysterio's mask and leading to the finish.
- Gunther was interviewed and said that Cody Rhodes deserved the win at Crown Jewel, despite Ludwig Kaiser trying to brush off the questions. Gunther left it at Rhodes being the better man before saying complimentary things about Seth Rollins, Sheamus and Damian Priest -- but leaving Dominik Mysterio out.
